


Upon the Mountains Like a Flame

by liggytheauthoress



Series: Melt the Elements 'Verse [5]
Category: The Magnificent Seven (2016)
Genre: Drama, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, POV Multiple
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-15
Updated: 2017-06-15
Packaged: 2018-11-14 09:45:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11205477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liggytheauthoress/pseuds/liggytheauthoress
Summary: "Sam can see it come together in the others’ minds, the underlying meaning in what Faraday is saying. What this means to him. He sees Goody and Billy exchange knowing glances, sees the almost paternal look in Horne’s eyes. And he sees the frown on Vasquez’s face soften to something that he knows would be blatant affection if they weren’t in public."Six months after Rose Creek, the Seven arrive in a new town and immediately get involved in a new fight.





	Upon the Mountains Like a Flame

**Author's Note:**

> HERE IT IS.
> 
> This has taken me over five months to write, but it is finally done and posted and I am so sorry for making all of you wait for so long, thank you for being so patience.
> 
> Huge thank you, as always, to my best friend for not only beta reading, but for being a voice of encouragement and reason throughout all of this <3
> 
> And trust me, this is by no means the end of this 'verse. I'm not done with the boys yet.

Vasquez wakes just after dawn, momentarily disoriented before he realizes what woke him up: the spot beside him is empty, the familiar weight of Faraday’s body gone.

There’s a moment of panic before he realizes that there’s no sign of trouble anywhere in the camp. The others are all sound asleep, the horses all standing quietly a few yards away. Wild Jack looks almost bored, and that alone is a sound indicator Faraday is alive, well, and nearby.

Scrubbing the sleep from his eyes, Vasquez sits up, then gets to his feet, his free hand migrating to the handle of his gun on reflex. He’s pretty certain he won’t need to use it, but better safe than dead.

They’ve set up camp in a clearing surrounded by dense forest, a short walk away from a small lake, and Vasquez has a feeling that’s where Faraday is.

* * *

Faraday cusses as another fireball shoots out only a few dozen feet over the lake and then fizzles out. He came out here because he felt like it was safer to practice right by open water - God knows they don’t need him starting a brush fire - but he’s starting to think he couldn’t send this forest up in smoke even if he actively tried.

He flexes his fingers, glaring at his hands. “The hell is wrong with you two, anyway?”

There’s a noise behind him, and he stiffens just for a moment before recognizing the familiar step. “The last time I checked, there was nothing wrong with your hands, _güerito_.”

“Well, you’d know that better than most,” Faraday quips without turning around.

He hears Vasquez chuckle behind him and then feels a pair of arms slide around his waist. “Still having trouble then?” Vasquez’s voice is soft in his ear.

Faraday makes a dissatisfied noise. “I don’t get it,” he mutters. “I could bend just fine that day in Rose Creek. Now I’m lucky if I can get anything bigger than a campfire going.”

Vasquez hums thoughtfully, leaning forward to rest his chin on Faraday’s shoulder. “Maybe you’re just out of practice.”

“Vas, I was never _in_ practice.” He lets out a harsh sigh. “When I was growing up, my landlord’s kids were earthbenders. They had a teacher, he taught them how to focus, he’d spar with ’em. They learned fast.” Faraday lightly digs his elbow into Vasquez’s ribs. “What about you? You have a teacher?”

“ _Mi madre,_ ” Vasquez says quietly. “She taught me everything that I know.” There’s a wistfulness in his voice that gives Faraday the impression he’s lost in his own memories, so he stays silent and gives Vasquez peace until the older man speaks again. “And you, _güero?_ Did you have one?”

The laugh Faraday gives is far from humorous. “I wasn’t even allowed to bend outside of our room. Hell, didn’t even meet another firebender until I was about seventeen. And he wasn’t exactly the teaching type.”

Faraday suppresses a cringe at that particular memory. If Vasquez picks up on it, he doesn’t say anything about it. Instead, he tightens his hold on Faraday’s waist for a moment. “No one ever helped you learn to use it?” He sounds almost angry, but Faraday knows Vasquez almost always sounds angry when he’s concerned.

“Pretty much had to figure it out for myself, yeah.” Faraday shrugs. “Not that it really mattered. I barely used it anyway, so it didn’t really matter either way. Does make it a mite harder now, though.”

Vasquez’s beard is pleasantly rough against Faraday’s cheek as the waterbender pulls him just a little closer and says, “You’ll figure it out, _güerito._ ” There’s a playful timbre to his voice as he adds, “You’re too stubborn for any other outcome.”

Faraday snorts. “I’m not rightly sure if I should feel offended or not.” He finally turns in Vasquez’s embrace so that they’re face to face. Vasquez is looking at him with that look of affection he only ever seems to give Faraday, the one he never would have guessed the waterbender even capable of having until he saw it with his own eyes. “In the mean time, guess I’ll just have to use my hands for other things.”

“And just what things did you have in mind?” Vasquez has dropped his voice to the low not-quite-growl that never fails to send a delightful shiver down Faraday’s spine, and there’s a knowing gleam in his eyes.

Faraday grins. “I got a couple of ideas.”

* * *

When they get back to camp, the sun has fully risen and the others are all up and about. Tactfully, none of them ask any questions - they’re used to Faraday and Vasquez disappearing for indeterminate stretches of time - but Billy gives Faraday a look that somehow manages to be half-leer and half-disgust.

Faraday shoots him a glare. Given how often he and Goody vanish, the airbender is in absolutely _no_ position to judge.

Billy just rolls his eyes and returns to packing up his and Goody’s bedrolls. Faraday catches Sam watching them all with the air of a mildly exasperated parent and smirks to himself before putting on his best innocent look.

It’s been almost six months since Rose Creek, but Faraday is still getting used to the feeling of having friends. Having a family, really. He’s never stayed in one place long enough to really connect with anyone, so going from that to this was a jarring experience that still catches him off-guard sometimes.

He would never admit it to anyone, but he likes it.

* * *

Vasquez prefers to ride beside Faraday, but the firebender tends to move around a lot, talking to whoever strikes his fancy at that particular moment. Right now, he’s at the back of the group, talking to Red and Horne about God knows what - Vasquez is pretty sure he doesn’t want to know. He can’t help glancing back every so often, smiling to himself when he sees Faraday laughing at something one of the others said.

Laughing was something Faraday hadn’t done nearly enough of in the weeks following the fight at Rose Creek. The healing process had taken a long time, for all of them, and even though Vasquez knows everyone in their group has been hale and hearty for several months now, he can’t help brooding from time to time, just a little bit.

“If you can’t forget him, why don’t you ride sidesaddle?” Sam says from beside him, an amused tone in his voice.

Vasquez turns around quickly, slightly sheepish, like he’s been caught doing something he shouldn’t. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sure you don’t. Just like you haven’t been checking behind you every few minutes since we left camp.” Sam raises an eyebrow. “He’s fine, Vasquez.”

“I know.” He does, truly.

There are just days, sometimes, where he needs to make sure.

“Where did you two disappear off to this morning, anyway?” Sam asks. “And spare me the more explicit details, please.”

Vasquez smirks. “Down by the lake. I found him there around dawn, I think he had been there for a while. Practicing.”

Sam frowns. “He still having trouble with his bending?”

“Seems so.” Vasquez looks over his shoulder again, at where Faraday is lighting a cigarette with a small tendril of flame curling up from his fingers. “Not with the smaller things. But the things he did that day in Rose Creek - I don’t know if he could do them again.” He looks back to Sam. “He told me nobody ever taught him how to use it.”

“That’s a tough thing to figure out on your own,” Sam says thoughtfully, brow furrowed. “Especially when you go so many years without using it.”

There’s an idea that’s been rattling around in Vasquez’s head ever since this morning, and he finally voices it. “Maybe...maybe if we found someone who could teach him?”

It’s something he never would have considered in the past: actively seeking out another firebender. Even now, the thought doesn’t exactly thrill him - despite everything, he knows there are still firebenders out there who aren’t like Faraday, and he’d rather avoid them if he can.

But he hates seeing Faraday so frustrated. The younger man has only just started to feel comfortable enough to use his bending consistently, and it’s _still_ causing him trouble.

If Sam is surprised by the suggestion, he doesn’t show it. He just huffs a quiet laugh and says, “Not sure our Faraday would make the most cooperative student.” He shrugs, then adds, “But that’s for him to decide. Try bringing it up sometime, he might surprise us all.”

Vasquez falls back not too long after that, letting Goody pull ahead of him and start talking to Sam instead. He’s pleased when Faraday appears on his left. The firebender doesn’t say anything, just grins and nudges Vasquez’s foot with his own, and even though he knows it’s slightly pathetic, how far gone he is for Faraday, Vasquez can’t help grinning back.

* * *

Around noon, they reach the edges of the conifer forest they’ve been in for the past couple of days, and the thick trees give way to a vast expanse of dusty terrain, with a ridge of mountains rising up in the distance and a small river running off in that direction. There’s a mass of large shapes near the river’s edge that resolve into what appears to be a town.

“Civilization at last.”

Faraday’s comment is met with an amused scoff from Goody. “I wouldn’t venture so far as to call it civilization just yet. There are a lot of towns out here that are about as civilized as a pack of wolves.”

“Hey, as far as I’m concerned, if there’s whiskey and a card game, it’s civil enough.”

“Not to mention an actual bed,” Vasquez adds, giving Faraday a surreptitious wink that makes the firebender smirk.

Unsurprisingly, Goody doesn’t voice any objections to that, exchanging a glance with Billy that’s not nearly as subtle as either of them seem to think it is.

Not that Faraday can judge - it’s not like he and Vasquez are any better. If anything, they’re worse. Goody and Billy have been together for years, they’re more than capable of restraining themselves when they need to.

Restraint is not something Faraday or Vasquez possesses in abundance.

Particularly when it comes to one another.

Which, Faraday thinks as he sees the familiar glint in Vasquez’s eyes, is not necessarily a bad thing.

* * *

As they get closer to the town, a signpost identifies it as Sego City. It looks bigger than Rose Creek, though not by much, and what Rose Creek lacked in size it more than made up for in its inhabitants. Faraday’s always a little jumpy coming to a new town, and he knows he’s not the only one. Between his bending, Vasquez’s warrant, and Sam, Billy, and Red’s appearances, their group has had good reason to avoid people since they left Rose Creek.

They expect some staring when they get into town - they’re an unusual group, for multiple reasons - but Faraday is quick to notice that the look in some of the townspeople’s eyes is more than cautious curiosity. There’s something about the way they look at the newcomers, the quiet, almost timid way they carry themselves, that makes Faraday wonder just what happened here to make the residents so nervous.

Logically, he knows it’s ridiculous, but part of him can’t help worrying they somehow know what he is, just by looking at him.

“Not exactly the warmest reception, is it?” he mutters, low enough for only Vasquez to hear.

“Could be worse. They could be shooting at us.”

“Yeah, well, let’s hope they don’t get any ideas.” Faraday’s eyes light on a sign that says “Saloon” and he adds, “At least not before I get a drink.”

The inside of the saloon is fairly busy for midday, although the buzz of conversation stops almost as soon as they come through the door. It’s a reaction they’ve gotten before, and nobody has drawn their guns yet, so Faraday counts it as a win and follows Sam to the bar while the others crowd around an empty table.

The bartender - a slim, wiry man with a long, grey mustache - looks less than enthusiastic about serving them, and his eyes keep darting to their hands as he pours their drinks and asks, “You, uh...you gentlemen all together, then?”

“We are.” Sam is giving one of his friendly smiles, the ones that make him seem a lot more harmless than he really is, and Faraday hopes his own expression is equally inoffensive; he would very much prefer not to get kicked out of another bar.

“You just arrive today?”

“Just rode in, actually.”

“Plannin’ on stayin’ long?”

Sam exchanges a brief glance with Faraday. “Few days, maybe.”

“You always this curious with strangers or did we just come on a bad day?” Faraday can’t help asking, because honestly, the way the man keeps looking at his hands is making him nervous. Out of habit, he pulls out his cards and begins absent-mindedly flipping them through his fingers.

The bartender, as if only just realizing how obvious he’s being, splutters a bit. “Sorry, I don’t mean to seem unsociable,” he says quickly. “Just. Bein’ cautious. We’ve been...havin’ some trouble lately with outsiders.”

Faraday can almost see Sam’s ears physically perk up, and he recognizes the earthbender’s expression as the one he often gets when he comes across someone in need. That’s all well and good, but all he wants right now is a drink, so he puts some money on the counter and brings the whiskey over to their table, leaving Sam to speak to the bartender alone.

The others are watching with quizzical expressions as he comes over. “Problem?” Vasquez asks.

“Not sure.” Faraday nudges his chair just the tiniest bit closer to Vasquez’s and sits, taking a sip of his drink and exhaling in satisfaction. “But that bartender is acting awful jumpy. Said they’ve been having ‘trouble with outsiders’, apparently.”

“I assume that’s why Sam appears to still be deep in conversation,” Goody remarks. Faraday looks back over his shoulder and sees that Sam is hunched over the bar, talking quietly with the man on the other side.

“I guess so.” Faraday bumps his knee against Vasquez’s. “Looks like we might be staying here longer than we thought.”

“You think you can stay out of trouble for that long, _güero_?”

Faraday kicks his ankle under the table. “Look who’s talking.”

Vasquez merely grins and kicks back.

Sam comes over not long after, looking less than satisfied. Faraday jerks his head in the direction of the bar, asking, “Find out anything?”

“Not really. He just says there’s been some ‘disagreements’ with a group of outsiders for the past year or so.” Sam casts a thoughtful glance around the saloon. “I get the feeling we aren’t exactly trusted here.”

“Can’t imagine why,” Billy mutters, making Faraday snort.

“Think that’ll hurt my chances of finding a card game?”

* * *

Ultimately, it doesn’t. After they’ve been in the saloon for a while, the townsfolk seem to relax a little, and by the time Faraday wanders over to the table where a group of men are playing cards, almost all the tension in the room is gone.

Faraday slips into the game and the accompanying conversation seamlessly, as he usually does, and before too long the other men are talking and laughing with him like they’ve been friends for years. It’s a welcome change from the stares they all got riding into town.

He wants to ask more about what the bartender said, but figures that would be pushing his luck, so he settles for the usual small talk, mixed with jokes of varying degrees of bad taste.

Vasquez wanders over eventually, asking Faraday to deal him in, and if he sits just a little bit closer to Faraday than is really necessary, no one seems to take notice. Faraday doesn’t take all that much notice either - he’s used to having no personal space whatsoever around the Mexican, and quite frankly, he likes it that way.

And then Faraday gets careless.

It’s a little thing, a habit he’s developed in the past few months; every time Vasquez goes to light a cigar, Faraday lights it just after he strikes the match, partially to annoy him and partially because the firebender likes the odd intimacy he feels when he does it.

So when Vasquez pulls his matches out of his pocket and lights one, Faraday doesn’t even think about it before moving his hand over and snapping his fingers.

A second later, every other man at the table has his gun drawn, a couple of them leaping to their feet or staggering backwards. Faraday, Vasquez, and the others react almost simultaneously, drawing their own guns and settling into a defensive stance.

It’s completely silent in the saloon for several moments. Faraday feels a familiar tightness in his chest as he looks around at the expressions directed at him. He’s not surprised by what he sees - fear. Anger.

Hatred.

The instinct to run, to put as much distance between himself and this town as possible, is overwhelming, and he feels himself tensing, body coiling as he gets ready to move-

“Now this seems just a mite unfriendly.” Sam’s voice is almost deafening, even though he’s using that careful, diplomatic tone Faraday’s heard so many times. It makes him blink and look over at where the others are standing. Sam and Goody both have their guns drawn, while Horne is holding a hatchet in a raised fist and Billy is turning one of his more deadly-looking knives over in his hands. Red’s made no move for his bow yet, but the look on his face alone would be enough to scare anyone.

And Vasquez has both his guns up, with a look on his face that reminds Faraday of that day in Rose Creek, when he’d been shot and the waterbender had gone berserk.

“We don’t take kindly to fuckin’ firebenders around here,” one of the men says, head jerking in Faraday’s direction. “This is a civilized town, your kind ain’t welcome.”

“I would hardly call pointing several guns at a group of strangers who have done no harm ‘civilized’,” Goody remarks, voice heavy with the false geniality only he and his Southern charm can ever seem to manage.

“It is when we’re defending ourselves from monsters like _you_.” The bartender has come out from behind the bar and is holding a rather nasty-looking sawed-off shotgun in his hands. “Now are you gonna leave quietly or do we need to get even less friendly?”

“Look, if it’s just firebenders you have a problem with, you can let them alone,” Faraday says carefully, ignoring the way he can suddenly feel the others’ eyes on him. He doesn’t think this is going to get too bad, but if it does, he doesn’t want his friends in the crossfire when they have no reason to be. “I’m the only one here.”

The bartender eyes him skeptically. “You expect me to believe any decent folk would let a firebender travel with them?”

Before Faraday can even say anything, Vasquez has holstered one of his guns and conjured a small ice disc, seemingly out of nowhere, sending it hurtling towards the bartender. It misses his neck by mere inches before shattering on the wall behind him. “Believe it now, _pendejo?_ ”

“Vasquez.” Sam’s tone is warning. “Calm down.” The earthbender turns to the bartender. “We don’t want to start anything here. But we tend to frown on people threatening one of our own. You have a problem with Faraday, you have a problem with all of us.”

As if to emphasize Sam’s point, Billy gives a sharp wave of his hand and sends out a blast of air that knocks the shotgun out of the bartender’s hands.

That’s roughly the same moment the sheriff walks in.

* * *

“Just what the hell is going on here?”

The sheriff of Sego City is a younger man - he can’t be that much older than Faraday - and there’s a distinctive twang in his voice that tells Faraday he’s not originally from around here. With any luck - although Faraday’s luck has been mercurial at best lately - the sheriff comes from a place where the automatic reaction to seeing a firebender isn’t to shoot him on sight.

One of the men standing near the door points at Faraday. “He’s a firebender, sheriff. We all saw it.”

Vasquez takes half a step to the side, partially standing between Faraday and the sheriff. “We don’t want any trouble,” the Mexican says, the threat in his voice clear.

“Easy, Vas,” Faraday murmurs. This type of situation isn’t exactly new to him, and he’s long since learned how to get out of it, but he’s not sure how to do that with his friends ready to fight half the town if provoked.

The sheriff looks from Vasquez to Faraday, then to Chisolm and the others, and slowly goes, “I think everyone can put their guns away now.” He glares at the townspeople still pointing their weapons in Faraday’s direction. “That includes all of you.”

There’s a moment of silence, then a low wave of grumbling as everyone in the saloon complies - although Vasquez only lowers his gun when Faraday places a hand on his shoulder in warning. Faraday feels the waterbender tense up beneath his touch as the sheriff comes closer and decides he’d better try to do some damage control.

This _is_ his fault, after all.

“Sorry to stir things up like this,” he says, the apology a well-practiced one. “If I’d known-”

The sheriff raises his hand, cutting him off. “Not your fault. You couldn’t have known.” He pulls out a chair and sits down between the card table and the table where Sam and the others are sitting. “And I do apologize for their behavior. They have good reason to be afraid of firebenders, though.”

Vasquez’s eyes narrow, but it’s Sam who speaks. “And what reason would that be, Mister…?”

“Freeman. Lawrence Freeman.” He pulls his hat off and drops it onto the table with a sigh. “Don’t misunderstand me - I’m sure there are firebenders out there who are reasonable folk.” Something in Freeman’s tone makes Faraday grit his teeth; maybe the way it makes “reasonable firebenders” sound like a rare novelty.

“I take it you’ve all had some run-ins with the...unreasonable kind,” Faraday says carefully.

Freeman nods. “There’s a settlement of them up in the mountains. Been there for years and we’ve had no trouble with them. Then about five months ago, they started raiding some of the farms. Entire homesteads up in flames. The last few times, some of them have even come into town - almost burned down the entire livery stable one night.”

“And that justifies pulling a gun on a man who has done nothing more than light a cigar?” They’re all sitting now, but Vasquez looks ready to leap out of his chair at a moment’s notice. Faraday nudges the Mexican’s foot with his own, silently willing him to calm down.

“I didn’t say it was justified. I’m just trying to explain why it happened.”

“Hey, you don’t need to explain anything,” Faraday says, and goddammit Vasquez and the others are staring at him again. And if they hadn’t already been staring, they would be after what he says next. “If your people are that antsy about it, I can just wait for my friends outside-”

“That won’t be necessary,” Freeman says quickly, and it’s probably a good thing he spoke before any of the Seven did, if the looks on their faces are anything to go by. “Please. All of you, stay as long as you like.”

“We will.” Sam’s voice is clipped and curt.

Freeman nods. “Friend of mine runs the hotel, on the other side of town. Tell him I sent you and he’ll take good care of you all.” He offers a brief half-smile before standing and addressing the rest of the room. “No more trouble now, understand?”

Everyone mumbles their assent, but it’s not all that reassuring.

Especially when most of the men are still looking at Faraday like they want to blow his head off.

They leave for the hotel not long after the sheriff walks out.

* * *

Sam and Goody do all the talking at the hotel. Faraday avoids his friends’ eyes, but he can feel Vasquez’s gaze on him and knows there’s a talk coming. He doesn’t think Vasquez is mad, but it’s still abundantly clear that the waterbender is _not_ happy.

Neither of them says anything until they’re alone and the door of their share room is safely closed. Faraday slumps on the edge of the bed and watches Vasquez scowling off into space for a few seconds. “Sorry about all that.”

Vasquez’s head jerks towards him, concern and confusion written in every line of his face, and for a minute Faraday is reminded of that day in the Rose Creek infirmary, when he tried to apologize for lying and the other man wouldn’t let him.

Part of him wonders if he’ll be that lucky this time.

“What the fuck are you apologizing for?” Vasquez demands.

Faraday shrugs. “Should I start with the part where I almost got us kicked out of town or the part where I almost got us all shot to hell and back?”

Vasquez lets his breath out in a sharp huff. “ _No me creo esto_ , you really think any of that was _your_ fault?”

“Who else’s fault would you call it?”

“I don’t know, maybe the idiots who were prepared to shoot you for not doing anything?”

“I should’ve known better,” Faraday says, hanging his hat on one of the bedposts. “Not like this is the first time that’s happened.”

Vasquez is staring at him, brow furrowed, and Faraday has to look away. He leans forward and begins to take off his boots, perhaps a little more slowly than he normally does. When he feels the bed dip next to him, he doesn’t turn around, but when he does sit back up Vasquez is right there, dark eyes full of affection and worry and more than a hint of sadness. “What?”

“That sort of thing happen to you a lot then, _güero?_ ” Vasquez asks softly.

Faraday huffs a bitter laugh. “Why do you think I’ve barely used my bending for the past twenty years? Soon as they find out you’re a firebender, you either get out before they start shooting or hope they all miss anything important.” He watches the muscles in Vasquez’s jaw shift. “This really surprises you?”

Vasquez nods once. “Before I met you, all the firebenders I met acted like they owned everything. Every town I went, they were in control. You had to be _loco_ or have a death wish to challenge them.” He swallows, casting his eyes down and running an index finger along Faraday’s knuckles. “I guess I never really thought it was different anywhere else.”

Faraday tries to imagine it. He’s used to being feared, but no one’s ever been so afraid of him that they were unwilling to even think about giving him shit for it. Maybe it’s because it’s always just been him, maybe it’s just because he can’t remember a time before Rose Creek where he had any sort of confidence in his bending.

“Kinda makes you wonder what would’ve happened if you and I met before Rose Creek, don’t it?”

He’s going for humor, but Vasquez just growls. “Don’t joke about that.”

It’s sort of an unspoken rule between the two of them, not talking about Vasquez’s past opinion of firebenders. Mostly because Faraday loathes the guilt and shame in the Mexican’s eyes every time the subject is even hinted at. He sees those things in his eyes again now and frowns, twisting his hand around to entwine his fingers with Vasquez’s. “You know I still don’t blame you, right? Not for any of it.”

Vasquez brings his free hand up to push Faraday’s hair back from his forehead. “Maybe you should.”

“Should what, blame you for being traumatized? I thought we’d gotten past that, Vas.” Faraday looks down at the floor, feeling the familiar guilt starting to churn in his stomach. “It’s not like you feeling that way was completely unfounded-”

Vasquez’s hand grips his so tightly it’s just shy of painful. “And I thought you’d gotten past _that_.” His other hand moves to cup Faraday’s jaw and turns the younger man’s face towards his own. “There is no shame in what you are, _querido_. None. Those people down there? They know nothing. They are being ruled by fear and prejudice, just like I was. _They’re_ the ones in the wrong, not you.”

Faraday gives a small smile, leaning into Vasquez’s touch. “Anyone ever tell you that you got a real way with words, Texican?”

Vasquez rolls his eyes and mutters, “That’s not the only thing I have a way with,” before angling in to give Faraday a hungry kiss. “Care for a demonstration?”

* * *

When Vasquez wakes from his doze a few hours later, he finds Faraday still sprawled across his chest, his face tucked into Vasquez’s neck. The waterbender smiles softly, running his fingertips along the ridges of Faraday’s spine. He loves watching Faraday sleep - a peaceful stillness that makes him look years younger comes over his face and totally erases all the disquiet that Faraday can never quite manage to hide from Vasquez when he’s awake.

It’s a drastic change from the tension that had been there earlier. The fear.

Vasquez’s mouth tightens into a thin line at the memory. Faraday’s expression in the saloon had been all too similar to the one he’d worn that night in the stables, and that was a look Vasquez had _never_ wanted to see on the other man’s face again.

He would have been more than happy to start shooting at the people who had put that fear and self-loathing back in Faraday’s eyes. Especially now, when Faraday has only just started to gain any sort of confidence in his bending, only just started to get to the point where he fully believes the others when they tell him he’s not a monster. Vasquez _hates_ those bastards for reinforcing the idea that Faraday’s bending is something he should be ashamed of.

Although, if he’s being honest with himself, only part of his anger is directed towards the men in the saloon.

The rest is directed inward.

Because, until recently, he would have been just like them.

He’s tried to imagine it before, crossing paths with Faraday before the fight at Rose Creek. Would he have seen past the prejudice? Or would he have been one of the men pointing their guns at him?

He doesn’t think about it often. Because he’s fairly certain of what the outcome would have been.

Sometimes Vasquez wonders how Faraday can even look him in the eye.

He’s pulled from his brooding as Faraday stirs a little and mutters something incoherent into Vasquez’s skin, an indication that he’s waking up. Vasquez quickly shoves aside the somberness he knows must be on his face right now and concentrates on running a hand through Faraday’s hair, tugging a little at the strands.

Faraday grunts, clearly not happy with the prospect of waking up just yet. “You slept plenty, _güero,_ ” Vasquez scolds lightly, digging his knee into the other man’s thigh. “Up.”

There’s a half-intelligible obscenity and then Faraday makes a petulant sound. “Shut up. M’comfortable.”

Admittedly, so is Vasquez - he’d love to stay here like this indefinitely - but neither of them have eaten much today and the idea of an actual meal after so many days of traveling is making his mouth water. “The sooner you get up, the sooner we can eat.”

“Not hungry. Wanna sleep.” Faraday tucks his face deeper into Vasquez’s neck and gives a slightly overdramatic sigh of contentment.

While this tactic tends to work more often than Vasquez is willing to admit, the lure of food is a bit too strong this time. Fortunately he knows an almost foolproof way to get Faraday out of bed. “Fine, the sooner you get up, the sooner you can get a drink.”

There’s a moment of silence as Faraday pretends to weigh his options before rolling off Vasquez. “Should’ve tried that trick to start with.”

“I’ll keep that in mind next time.” Vasquez doesn’t get up right away, indulging himself in watching Faraday get dressed. “You do need to eat, though, _idiota_.”

“That may be, but I can’t say the idea of dinner in a place where most of the town would rather see me dead is all that appetizing.”

Faraday’s tone is light, but there’s an undertone in his voice that makes Vasquez get out of bed and cross the room to him. He takes Faraday by the wrist, turning him slightly so their faces are only a few inches apart. “Believe me, I’m going to make it very clear to them that the first person who tries anything will need to answer to me personally.”

There’s a flash of gratitude in Faraday’s eyes that makes Vasquez want to hold him for a long time, but it’s gone as quickly as it appeared, Faraday pulling on his imperturbable mask once again. The facade is useless, they both know that - Vasquez has always been able to see past it - but the waterbender understands why Faraday needs it.

He also understands why Faraday quirks a mischievous smile and remarks, “I appreciate that, but I reckon they might take you more seriously if you put some pants on.”

* * *

Sam isn’t surprised when Faraday and Vasquez are the last of the group to come downstairs. He can’t imagine Faraday is all that eager to be around any townsfolk again, and Vasquez is restless enough around strangers even without those strangers trying to shoot his lover.

He supposes he could give the word, tell the others they’re packing up and leaving, but he knows that the second he does, Faraday will blame himself for it. Sam doesn’t want that. And he definitely doesn’t want to give these people the satisfaction of thinking they drove Faraday off.

He’s acutely aware of how the townsfolk in the hotel bar all zero in their gazes on Faraday and Vasquez as they come down the stairs, of the way Faraday is forcing the impudent, indifferent smirk on his face.

Sam can’t be absolutely certain, but he’s pretty sure the unpleasantly chilly gust of air that passes through the room like a warning isn’t a natural occurrence. Not if the look on Billy’s face is anything to go by.

“Was wondering if you two were ever coming down,” Sam says as Faraday takes a seat on his left. Vasquez, as always, takes a seat on Faraday’s other side, looking for all the world like a belligerent guard dog.

“Well, we felt like being fashionably late,” Faraday drawls, casting an appreciative look at the glass of whiskey Sam had ordered for him. “We miss anything?”

Sam shakes his head. “Not much going on in this town.”

Vasquez scoffs, sending a vaguely threatening look at the men sitting at the nearest table. Faraday digs an elbow into the waterbender’s side and mutters, “ _Behave_.”

In Vasquez’s defense, the rest of the Seven also seem to be doing their best to look as menacing as possible while still remaining civil. If Faraday notices, he doesn’t say anything.

None of them bring up what happened in the saloon, but as they’re eating, Sam catches Vasquez’s eyes, sending him a look that basically asks, “ _He all right?_ ”

Vasquez gives a minute nod.

Even so, Sam notices the way Faraday’s eyes dart around the room from time to time, when he thinks the others aren’t looking. He’s never seen the gambler look this on edge, not even when Faraday was about to ride out to the Gatling gun with no chance of coming back. Hell, not even that night before the fight when they’d confronted him in the saloon.

It occurs to Sam that this is probably the first time, excluding Rose Creek, that Faraday hasn’t immediately run from a town - or been driven out - after being revealed as a firebender.

No small wonder the younger man looks ready to bolt.

Maybe staying will do Faraday more harm than good.

Sam is mulling over the best way to potentially broach the subject when Sheriff Freeman walks in and heads right for their table. Faraday instantly tenses and visibly shrinks back in his seat, Vasquez’s hand inches towards his gun, and Billy’s fingers twitch in a way that indicates he’s ready to go for his hairpin at the slightest provocation.

“Evening, Sheriff,” Sam says, the undertone in his voice warning the others not to start anything unless it becomes necessary.

Freeman nods his head once in way of greeting. “Gentlemen.” He gestures to an empty chair and asks, “May I?”

Sam nods in return, choosing to ignore the displeased expressions on the others’ faces. Freeman’s been more polite to them than anyone else in town has been, and this doesn’t seem like the best time to be making enemies of the local law.

“You fellas settled in all right?” Freeman asks, wrapping a hand around the glass of whiskey the bartman had brought over as soon as he’d sat down. “Anyone give you trouble here?”

“None so far,” Sam says. “Although it seems to me a few of the men in here are a mite wary of us.”

“News travels fast in this town. Especially when firebenders’re involved.” Freeman looks around the table at each of them. “You shouldn’t have any more problems but...if you do, come to me. I don’t want innocent folk being harassed in my town.”

“We appreciate that. I don’t imagine we’ll stay very long, anyway.”

“Sam, I’ve been thinking,” Faraday says slowly, sounding uncharacteristically serious. “Knowing what’s been going on here...Ain’t there something we could do to help?”

Sam arches an eyebrow at him in curiosity. He knows Faraday is, despite first (and second, and often third) impressions, one of the most selfless men he’s ever met, but generally the firebender prefers to hide that beneath a carefully crafted layer of indifference, if not outright irreverence. It’s a bit unprecedented for him to be this straightforward.

Evidently, Sam, so caught up in his thoughts, takes too long to respond, because Faraday averts his gaze and clears his throat self-consciously. “Sorry, I shouldn’t-”

“No, it’s fine. I’ve been thinking on that myself,” Sam tells him, which isn’t a lie.

Faraday brightens up a little even as Vasquez’s scowl deepens. “They haven’t asked for any help,” the waterbender grumbles.

“And that means we shouldn’t offer it?”

A soft cough from across the table reminds Sam that Sheriff Freeman is still sitting there. They all turn to look at him as he says, “Look, not that I don’t appreciate the offer...It’s just...I’m not sure folks here would be all that eager to accept help from all of you.”

“Help from a firebender, you mean,” Faraday says.

Freeman nods slowly, and out of the corner of his eye, Sam sees Vasquez’s scowl turn to a glare. “It’s nothing personal,” the sheriff says. “We’ve just...had too many bad run-ins with...with your kind.”

“Maybe that’s just all the more reason we should try to help,” Sam remarks, because he knows Faraday isn’t going to push the matter any further on his own.

Freeman doesn’t look convinced, but Faraday is watching Sam with a quietly hopeful look in his eyes that makes Sam wonder if the people of Sego City aren’t the only ones who might benefit from this.

Still, Sam might be their leader, but he wants input from the rest of the Seven on this before he starts making any actual offers to help. “I think my associates and I have a few things to talk over, Sheriff, so if you don’t mind…”

“Of course.” Freeman finishes his drink and stands up. “If you gentlemen have any problems, I’m easy to find.”

Sam waits until the sheriff is gone before speaking again, folding his hands on the table in front of him. “Well, it seems we might have a decision to make.”

“Look, Sam, I know this is what we do now, but...Rose Creek _asked_ for our help,” Vasquez says.

“We can’t expect every town in trouble to come to us,” Sam points out. “Them not asking doesn’t mean they don’t need it.”

“I just don’t see any reason we should stick our necks out for a town of people who pulled their guns on us almost as soon as we got here.”

“Vas, you said it yourself - they’re scared, is all.” Faraday looks around the table tentatively. “Maybe they just need to see for themselves that...being a firebender doesn’t automatically make you a monster.”

Sam can see it come together in the others’ minds, the underlying meaning in what Faraday is saying. What this means to him. He sees Goody and Billy exchange knowing glances, sees the almost paternal look in Horne’s eyes. And he sees the frown on Vasquez’s face soften to something that he knows would be blatant affection if they weren’t in public.

Surprisingly, Red is the first to say something. “I’m in.”

Six pairs of eyes turn to look at him and he shrugs, saying, completely deadpan, “The food here is good.”

There’s a moment of silence, then they’re all laughing - even Vasquez has a reluctant smile on his face. Faraday is chuckling into his drink, looking more at ease than he has since the incident at the saloon.

“Anyone else have anything to say?” Sam asks once the laughter has died down. “If it helps anybody’s decision, I’ll be sure to let the sheriff know we won’t do this for free.”

Goody and Billy glance at each other again, both of them nodding almost imperceptibly before Goody turns and says, “I believe we’re both amenable to that idea.”

“Horne?”

The older man just nods serenely. “‘Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due.’”

Sam turns to Vasquez, although he already has a pretty good idea of what the waterbender’s answer will be. “Vasquez? What about you?”

Vasquez gives an exaggerated sigh, rolling his eyes upwards for a moment as if asking God for patience, before saying, “I think you are all completely crazy.” He looks from Sam to Faraday and adds, “But count me in.”

Faraday’s face lights up like a small child’s and Sam has to stifle a smirk at how the firebender’s reaction makes Vasquez’s exasperated expression vanish completely. He looks around the table, meeting everyone’s eyes, and says, “I guess I’ll talk to the sheriff tomorrow, then.” He drains the last of his whiskey and adds, “In the mean time, who’s up for another drink?”

* * *

It takes longer to convince Freeman than any of them are expecting; it’s at least an hour before Sam comes back from meeting with him in the morning, and according to the earthbender, Freeman’s still reluctant, even after giving in.

“I don’t get it,” Faraday says, fiddling with his deck of cards. “Why’s he so against us helping?”

“Probably worried about what happens if it doesn’t work out,” Vasquez answers. He watches the way Faraday is running the cards through his fingers and frowns, recognizing the nervous tic for what it is. Unfortunately, he also knows Faraday won’t be using his bending anytime soon, at least not in public, which means the cards are all the other man has right now.

“Yeah, what was that Goody said about the people in Rose Creek? About wanting to make sure the candle was lit before blowing out the match?” Faraday gives a wry smirk. “Then again, these folks probably aren’t too concerned about lighting candles…”

It’s said without any of Faraday’s usual good humor and Vasquez resists the urge to scowl. He feels bad for the people of Sego City, he truly does - he knows exactly what it’s like to live in fear, to watch your home go up in flames, and the more logical part of him also knows he’s in absolutely no position to judge, but he’s never been very logical when it comes to Faraday.

He forces himself to focus as Sam clears enough room on the table to lay down a map of the town and the surrounding area. “We’re a few hours’ ride from that ridge of mountains we saw on our way in,” Sam says, tracing a line northwards from the marking of the town. “Not a lot of cover, but enough for a decent-sized group to move between there and here without too much trouble. Especially if it’s a new moon - Freeman says that’s the only time they come around.”

“Makes sense,” Vasquez says. “Waterbenders are weakest when there’s no moon, if there were any in town they’d be much less of a threat.”

“Sheriff says there are a few, but not enough to put up much of a fight,” says Sam.

“How many firebenders are up there, anyway?” Faraday asks.

“That’s the problem.” Sam reaches up to rub the back of his neck and sighs. “Nobody here seems to know for sure. There’s not much opportunity to count how many come in on the raids, and it’s probably a safe bet there are more up there that don’t come down too often.”

Goody frowns. “How are we supposed to fortify this town against them if we don’t even know how many there are?”

Sam doesn’t answer right away, like he’s thinking about how to word his reply. “Before we do anything, we need to find out their numbers. I don’t know if there’s enough cover up there for any of us to scout that out, but if we had someone inside the camp…”

Vasquez’s head shoots up as he looks quickly from Sam to Faraday and back again. There’s a look in Faraday’s eyes that reminds him of the firebender’s expression when they found the dynamite shed back in Rose Creek, and considering how that almost ended, it’s not an expression Vasquez is all too happy about seeing again. “Joshua,” he says in a warning tone.

Faraday shoots him an annoyed look, then looks back to Sam. “So what, I go in, stay for a couple of days, report back?”

Vasquez bites back his next words, because he knows it’s not his place to tell Faraday what to do (and even if it was, it isn’t as though Faraday is overly keen on following orders).

Sam just nods. “Shouldn’t be too difficult for you to get in,” he says. “And once we know their numbers we can make some kind of move.” His gaze flicks briefly to Vasquez as he says, “For the record, none of us is gonna force you to do this if you don’t want to, Faraday. We can always figure something else out.”

Faraday snorts derisively. “Yeah, and how long will that take?” He takes a deep breath, squaring his shoulders, and says, “I got no problems doing this, Sam. Just tell me when and where to go.”

“‘Therefore by force essay we not to smite Troy, but let cunning stratagem avail,’” Goody mutters. When the others look at him curiously, he smiles and says, “The Trojan Horse.”

* * *

Faraday watches the tense line of Vasquez’s shoulders as he follows the waterbender back to their room. He knows that posture, knows it means an argument is coming, but he also knows he won’t be the one to back down on this.

In their room, Faraday locks the door and turns to face his lover, who is standing there, arms folded. The firebender sighs. “Vas…”

“I know I can’t stop you from doing this,” Vasquez says. “But that doesn’t mean I have to be okay with it.” The Mexican clenches his jaw. “You have no idea what you might be getting yourself into - what if they don’t trust you?”

“They’re more likely to trust me than any of the others. And we _need_ this information, you heard Sam.”

“Sam also said we could find another way-”

“And how long would that take? How many people might get hurt if we fuck up because we didn’t know what we were up against?” Faraday exhales slowly. “These folks deserve to live without being scared, Vas. I thought you, of all people, would get that.”

“I _do_ get that.” Vasquez shakes his head and steps forward to lightly cup Faraday’s jaw. “I just...I don’t want you to feel like you need to put yourself on the line for people who were ready to shoot you for what you are.”

Faraday doesn’t say anything for a few seconds, hands coming up to rest on Vasquez’s chest as he turns his answer over in his head. “You told me once that my bending doesn’t make me a monster, it’s what I do with it that does or doesn’t. This is what I want to do with it. Maybe I can make up for some of what these firebenders have done here.”

The concerned furrow in Vasquez’s brows deepens. “You aren’t responsible for their actions, _güero._ ”

And Faraday knows that, truly he does - holding himself accountable for what’s been happening here makes as little sense as blaming Sam and Horne and Red for the way the earthbenders he’d known as a kid had treated him.

But sense isn’t something he’s ever had much of.

And honestly? There’s still a part of him that wonders if he’s been kidding himself all this time, if the others are wrong about him.

“I know I’m not,” he says, not sure if he actually means it. “But I still want to do it.” Faraday trails a hand up to Vasquez’s neck. “And I’d rather do it without you fighting me on it.”

Vasquez sighs, leaning in to press his forehead to Faraday’s. “I’m not going to fight you on it, _güerito_. But I don’t like the idea of you being up there by yourself.”

“Vas, as hard as it might be to believe, I _did_ manage just fine on my own for a long time before I met all of you.”

“That doesn’t mean you still have to.”

The words are quiet and sincere and Faraday feels his chest swell with affection and gratitude. He smiles, bringing his arms up to wrap around Vasquez’s neck. “Would it help if I promise to get out of there the second I think things are going to shit?”

“Considering your lack of self-preservation in the past? Not really.” Vasquez finally smiles then, and while the smile isn’t as big as Faraday would like, it’s still an improvement. “But it’s better than nothing.”

Faraday grins. “And what about you, _vaquero?_ You gonna stay out of trouble while I’m gone?”

Vasquez rolls his eyes. “I think I’ll be able to manage. Sam and I want to meet with the town’s waterbenders, see if they’ll be up for a fight.” He makes a face. “Sounds like we’ll have our work cut out for us.”

“There, see? You’ll be too busy to even notice I’m gone.”

Vasquez’s gaze turns tender, the kind of look he only ever gives Faraday when they’re alone. “I always notice when you’re gone, _querido_.”

* * *

Faraday is honestly itching to put some distance between himself and Sego City as soon as he can, and he knows the others are antsy about getting started too, so he volunteers to head out right after supper. Sam is quick to shoot the idea down (a decision that Vasquez, unsurprisingly, seems highly supportive of), saying he doesn’t want Faraday trying to navigate the mountains in the dark, so Faraday grudgingly agrees to wait and leave first thing in the morning.

He does his best to ignore the hostile glares aimed at him as he rides out of town, Vasquez and Red Harvest at his side. It feels too much like all the other times he’s been chased away with his tail between his legs - only for the first time, he’s not alone.

And he’s achingly grateful for that.

Besides, he can’t say he’ll mind having company for part of the trip. Sam’s sending Red out with him with instructions to camp out somewhere near the base of the mountain trail, far enough away to avoid being spotted by anyone coming or going, but close enough to come to Faraday’s aid in an emergency.

Vasquez says he’s tagging along simply because he wants a better idea of the terrain, but they all know he’s full of shit. Faraday might not be too worried about heading into that camp alone, but Vasquez is more than making up for that. He barely left the firebender’s side yesterday, and it’s clear he’s not going anywhere until he absolutely has to.

It’s still new to him, the knowledge that he has people in his life who care about him and will work to protect him, even draw their guns on a room full of men who were only reacting the way anyone would react to a firebender in their midst. Being trusted, that’s definitely new too. And he’s feeling the weight of the others’ trust in him right now, because they’re doing this because of him, because it was his idea and he pushed for it first, and if it all goes to hell it’ll be his fault.

Vasquez interrupts his thoughts by flicking Faraday’s thigh with his reins. “You’re never quiet for this long. Should I be worried?”

It’s said in a teasing manner, but Faraday hears the concealed note of concern and resists the urge to smile. He gives Vasquez a look instead. “What, a man can’t have some time alone with his thoughts?”

“You and your thoughts should never be left alone together,” Red mutters, urging his horse ahead to put some distance between himself and them - Faraday’s not sure if it’s his way of giving them privacy or just Red trying to ignore them.

“I’m not sure, but I think I was just insulted.” He hears Red say something in Comanche, and while he can’t understand a word of it, it definitely doesn’t sound flattering, so he replies with, “And the same to you.”

Vasquez snorts, doing a poor job of trying to hide it with a cough. “I wouldn’t make him too angry with you, _güero._ He’s the one who will be riding to your rescue if things go wrong.”

The tone of Vasquez’s voice tells Faraday the waterbender still isn’t too happy about that arrangement - when Sam had suggested sending someone along, Vasquez had been quick to volunteer.

“What’s the matter, don’t you trust Red?”

Vasquez sighs, leaning over in his saddle so their shoulders brush. “I do. And an earthbender is better to have out here than I am.” He lets go of the reins with one hand and rests it on Faraday’s thigh. “But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

Faraday smiles softly. “Hey, believe me, there’s no one I’d rather have watching my back than you, Vas.” He rests his hand on top of Vasquez’s. “But you can do more good back there helping Sam.”

And if this _does_ all go to hell, Faraday wants Vasquez as far away from the enemy as possible.

* * *

They reach the base of the mountain trail Freeman gave them directions to just before noon. Red points out where he’ll be, should Faraday need him - which is probably a good thing, because Faraday has seen firsthand how seamlessly Red can disappear into the landscape, and if he does come running for help he doesn’t want to have to spend two hours trying to find the damn man.

Vasquez is in no hurry to leave, jaw clenching as he looks up at the trail in front of them like it’s personally offended him.

“Should only take me a day or two. Three at the most,” Faraday reminds him. Vasquez makes a noncommittal noise, looking less than pleased.

It dawns on Faraday that this is the first time they’ll have been really, truly apart since...since before they met, actually. Even that night before the fight in Rose Creek, when Faraday had gone to bed alone and dejected, Vasquez had still been close, and they’ve been joined at the hip since then.

Joshua Faraday has spent most of his life on his own, but right now, he doesn’t particularly like the thought of going back to that, for however short a time.

He pulls Wild Jack close beside Vasquez’s horse and leans in to bring their faces together. “I promise I’ll be careful. You just make sure there’s a whiskey waiting for me when I get back.”

The corners of Vasquez’s mouth pull up and Faraday can’t resist pressing a kiss to one. He starts to pull away, only for Vasquez to hold him in place for a longer, proper kiss.

Part of Faraday knows Red is getting an eyeful right now, but frankly, he doesn’t give a fuck.

“I’ll see you in a couple days, outlaw,” Faraday says with a smirk when they finally break apart.

“You’d better, _güero_. Or I’ll come drag you down the mountain again myself.”

Faraday is tempted to say something about how that’s not such an unappealing idea, but Vasquez is already turning his horse back towards town. Red has, unsurprisingly, already disappeared, so Faraday sits there alone for a long time, watching Vasquez’s retreating outline.

No more putting it off, then.

With a decisive sigh, Faraday clicks his tongue and moves Wild Jack forward.

Red doesn’t appear to say goodbye, but Faraday’s pretty damn sure the path is smoother than it was when they got here.

* * *

Freeman hadn’t been able to give them much of an idea of just where in the mountains the settlement was, so Faraday keeps his guard up. He’s been riding for maybe half an hour, at the most, when the path takes a sharp turn and he finds himself face-to-face (well, horse-to-face) with three very large, very unfriendly-looking men with guns, the tallest of whom has a fireball already formed in his free hand.

At least it’s a sign Faraday’s in the right place.

“Afternoon,” he says, using the same voice he uses when he’s trying to weasel his way into a poker game. “I have to say, you fellas sure do know how to make a person feel welcome.”

“I’d advise you to turn around and go back the way you came, stranger,” the man with the fireball says. “Or there’s liable to be trouble.”

Faraday figures now is probably a good time to show them his credentials, as it were. He sticks his hand out, palm up, and manages to summon a small burst of flame. Hopefully that will be enough to get him past the welcoming committee.

Apparently it is, because the men lower their guns, although they still don’t look all that friendly. The tall man extinguishes the fireball and asks, “How did you know where to find us?”

“Well, the folks back in town made it pretty obvious why they weren’t too happy to see someone like me come riding in,” Faraday says, which isn’t a lie. “Didn’t feel all the safe staying there after that, and I figured coming up here was worth a shot.”

Also not a lie, he hates to admit.

There’s no reply at first, which makes him nervous. He tries to look as unassuming as possible, tries to channel the fear he’d felt in the saloon in a way that these men will maybe sense and see him as a kindred spirit, so to speak. Granted, Faraday has no idea how strong the bonds of brotherhood between firebenders are - the ones he’s met in the past weren’t all too preoccupied with anyone but themselves.

Finally, the tall man exhales, rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry about the rude welcome,” he says, and there’s a warmth in his voice that wasn’t there before that makes Faraday relax a little. “Can’t be too careful, is all. Wouldn’t put it past those people to try and send up an ambush.”

Faraday has never been more grateful for his poker face. “I don’t blame you. Pretty sure I had half the town pointing their guns at me in that saloon. Lucky the sheriff decided to save my hide.”

“Freeman? Don’t kid yourself - only reason he’d save one of us is if his people tried to shoot you without his okay. He don’t like folks in his town acting on their own.” The tall man sniffs derisively. “Just count yourself lucky he hates mutiny more than he hates firebenders.”

Faraday frowns, but before he can say anything the man says, “But enough jabbering. Hell, haven’t even introduced myself yet. Name’s Calhoun.” He takes a step forward and extends his hand, and Faraday, after a moment’s hesitation, shakes it.

“Faraday.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Faraday.” Calhoun tips his hat in an exaggerated manner that makes Faraday chuckle despite himself. “Our camp’s about a mile up the trail. I’ll walk you in, if you’d like. Make sure you get settled in.”

“I’d appreciate that,” Faraday says, sliding out of the saddle. “Been riding most of the day.”

“Well, I’m sure we’ll find a spot for you.” Calhoun pauses to tell the other two men to watch the path until he returns before ushering Faraday further along.

They set a slow pace - Faraday’s hip had already been bothering him a little when they got to Sego City, and the events of the past couple of days have done nothing to soothe the ache of phantom bullets. Calhoun notices, but doesn’t ask.

Calhoun, Faraday discovers fairly quickly, likes to talk. Which doesn’t bother him, because it means Faraday doesn’t have to say much, and if Calhoun lets some kind of important information slip, so much the better.

And he’s a little puzzled by what he hears.

He’d been too distracted back in town to form any real opinion of Freeman, beyond being grateful to the man for stopping a shootout, but the sheriff had seemed decent enough. The way Calhoun tells it, though, you’d think Freeman was a tyrant of almost Biblical proportions.

“You sure we got the same man?” Faraday can’t help asking. “He was the only one in that town who had anything halfway civil to say to me.”

“Oh, he can do civil, all right. He’ll talk so pretty you won’t even notice him stabbing you in the back until he pulls out the knife and shows it to you.”

Faraday furrows his brows. “You know him personally, then?”

Calhoun spits on the ground, scoffing a little. “I was born and raised in Sego City. Lived there all my life. A lot of us did. Then a couple of years ago, this cocky young kid from back east comes riding in and sets himself up as the sheriff.” He spits again. “Didn’t seem like a problem at first. Then some of us started noticing folks treating us different.” Calhoun meets his gaze. “I’m sure you can guess.”

Faraday thinks of the hostile stares, the quickly averted eyes, the hands inching towards gun belts, and says, “Yeah, I can guess.”

Calhoun nods. “Guess he’d taken to telling everyone about how surprised he was to find firebenders living with ‘regular folk’. About how all the ones he’d ever met were just a bunch of godawful sons-of-bitches who’d just as soon kill you as look at you…”

“Monsters,” Faraday throws in, quietly.

He has to look away from Calhoun’s face, then, because he’s gotten expressions of sympathy before, even empathy, but he’s never seen it on someone who knows exactly what he’s talking about because they’ve experienced the exact same thing.

It stirs up something in him he doesn’t think he could name, even if he wanted to.

If Calhoun notices anything, he doesn’t mention it. “Anyway,” he says, carrying on as if they’re discussing the weather, “after a while it started to get mighty uncomfortable for a lot of us. Fights breaking out, people accusing us of things we didn’t do. And Freeman almost never stepping in - and when he did, it was never on our side. He got that town so dependent on him protecting them from the big, scary firebenders, they probably gave him a medal when we decided we’d had enough.”

“That when you came up here?”

Calhoun nods.

Faraday’s pretty sure he can’t ask any more without sounding suspicious, so he doesn’t, and Calhoun doesn’t offer anything more.

Eventually, the path starts to widen, and after a few more turns it opens out into a large gully, about an acre or so long, dotted with tents and lean-tos. It’s easily twice the size of the miner’s camp outside Rose Creek, and that had housed a good thirty or forty men.

As odds go, it’s still better than the numbers the Seven had been up against then, but the number isn’t what’s making him pause right now.

He’d come up here expecting an army barracks, almost; full of angry, vengeful men ready to lash out at the world at a moment’s notice. The way firebenders always are. But this...Hell, it’s practically a town all on its own. Men sitting around talking, women hanging washing out on makeshift lines, teenagers laughing as they send playful fire jabs at each other, kids running around and ducking in and out of tents.

Faraday’s learned not to judge people by first glances, but when he looks around, he doesn’t see vengeful, he doesn’t see hostile, he doesn’t see a barracks.

He sees a homestead.

“You all right?”

Calhoun’s voice reaches his ears, and Faraday realizes he’s been gaping. He stammers a bit, trying to recover his composure without making more of an idiot out of himself, but Calhoun just smiles. “No worries. A lot of people are a little thrown off when they get here.” He claps Faraday on the should. “Come on, we’ll find you a place to sleep.”

* * *

Vasquez is irritable.

Granted, he’s usually irritable, but this is worse than usual. Without Faraday here to balance out his more sullen moods, he’s snappy and restless and reluctant to speak to anyone but Sam. And Sam’s busy readying the town for war, it seems.

Too make matters worse, the waterbenders in Sego City are nothing impressive. None of them has any real experience using their bending in a fight, and most of them have trouble with anything more complicated than small water bullets.

By suppertime, he’s tired, frustrated, and just about out of patience, and if he hears one more person whispering about “that firebender he and the others rode in with”, he might just say the hell wth Sego City and ride out to camp with Red.

And Faraday’s only been gone half a day.

Horne finds him angrily chewing on a cigar behind the hotel, looking out past the livery stable to the silhouette of the mountains in the distance. The older man makes a noise that could just as easily be exasperation or amusement and leans against the railing next to Vasquez. “If you weren’t a waterbender I’d think you were trying to move them with your mind.”

Vasquez scoffs, but he’s oddly comforted by Horne’s presence. For all his ferocity in a fight, the earthbender has a surprising knack for making the people around him feel more at ease. Vasquez doesn’t know if it’s due to his endless optimism or something else, but he’s grateful for it right now.

“I know he can take care of himself,” he mutters, stamping the end of his cigar into the railing. “I just…”

“You can’t help worrying.” Horne chuckles. “Hate to tell you, son, but you’ll probably have to get used to that. When you love someone, you’re always just a little bit worried about them.”

The word “love” makes something twist in Vasquez’s chest. It’s not a word he uses lightly, and it’s one he and Faraday have yet to exchange. It’s not that he doesn’t love Faraday - he does, God, he does, so much it scares him sometimes - but the only people he’s ever said it to in his life were his mother and brother, and the idea of opening himself up to someone like that again, only to lose them…

And there’s always that voice in the back of his mind that says Faraday will leave eventually, because how could Faraday love a man who spent years wishing all of his kind dead?

Horne, thankfully, cuts through the fog in his mind and derails that train of thought before it can go too far. “Supper’s waiting inside,” he says. “If you’re going to worry, might as well do it with food in your belly.”

Vasquez can’t really argue with that.

* * *

There’s not a lot of room to spare in the settlement, and Faraday ends up sharing a tent with a couple of kids who don’t even stick around long enough for Faraday to learn their names and an elderly man who Calhoun introduces as Vin. Vin says nothing, merely gives enough of a nod to indicate that he’s aware of Faraday’s presence, and goes back to the book he was reading when they came in.

Faraday sits by the campfire right outside their tent and wonders what the hell he’s supposed to do now. He knows he’s here to try and get some idea of what they’re up against, but he’s not sure he can even do that.

He’s not sure he wants to, either.

Because whatever he was expecting up here, it wasn’t this.

He needs a cigarette. He pulls one out, debates trying to find a match, and figures it doesn’t really matter whether or not anyone sees him bend here.

It takes a couple of tries to get a light going, but he finally does, and he takes a long inhale.

“Your bending’s weak.”

Faraday coughs, startled by the voice. It’s the first thing Vin’s said in the past half hour - the first thing he’s heard Vin say, period. “Excuse me?”

Vin is looking at him with shrewd eyes. “Your bending. Someone your age shouldn’t have trouble with a little flame like that.”

“Yeah, well, I usually don’t,” Faraday says, feeling his defensiveness rise.

“But you have trouble with bigger things.”

“And how the hell would you know that?” It’s probaby not a good idea to get into an argument with his new tentmate so soon, but he doesn’t care. He doesn’t need some old man he’s never met telling him what’s wrong with his bending, he’s been aware of that for a while now.

“Your drive’s not steady and you have terrible breath control. Stands to reason that more complicated bending gives you trouble.”

“Well, excuse me for not being a master.” Faraday stubs his cigarette out on the ground. “If it bothers you, I can find someone else to bunk with.”

Vin, if anything, looks amused. Like a parent reacting to a misbehaving child. “Hey, kid, I’m not trying to pick a fight here. I’ve met firebenders twice your age who can barely even manage to block a fireball.”

Faraday glares at him. “Then why bring it up?”

“Because I can tell you’re trying. Hard. The drive is there, you just can’t direct it for shit.” Vin closes his book and sets it aside. “Which is a shame, because I have a feeling you’d be a damn good bender if you could.”

There’s silence for a while as Faraday stares at him. This entire conversation has already thrown him off balance - Vin’s talking about shit he’s never heard of before, and he’s having trouble keeping up.

Either Vin is a mind reader, or Faraday’s let his poker face slip, because the old man suddenly nods, as if finally grasping the meaning of something. “No one ever told you any of this, did they, kid?”

Faraday doesn’t answer, defenses still up, which doesn’t seem to surprise Vin at all. The older man shakes his head, sighing a little. “You’re not the only one here who has trouble, son. Finding good teachers is hard even without people like the folks in Sego City drawing their guns at the first sign of a flame.”

“Never had a teacher,” Faraday mutters, kicking a stone into the fire. “I taught myself everything I know.”

Vin’s quiet for a few moments.

“You want one?”

Faraday glances up. “One what?”

“A teacher.” Vin gestures to himself. “I might be old, but I still know a thing or two. And you got a lot of promise.”

“You don’t even know me,” Faraday says. “How do you know I got promise?”

“I’ve known enough firebenders to pick out the good ones and the lousy ones pretty easily. Like I said, you got plenty of drive, kid. You just need to learn how to use it.” Vin looks him dead in the eye. “And trust me, you want the most stubborn son-of-a-bitch in this camp for that. That’s me.”

“What do you get out of this?” It’s probably a rude question, but Faraday knows better than to expect an offer like this doesn’t have a catch. “You just met me, you don’t know a goddamn thing about me. What makes you think I’m worth your time?”

“I know you’re a firebender. You’re one of us. Maybe you’ve met some shitty firebenders in the past - hell, maybe you haven’t met any - but most of us? We take care of our own.” Vin leans forward to place a hand on Faraday’s arm. “Your bending’s a gift. You should know how to use it right.”

For a moment, Faraday’s back in that hotel room in Rose Creek, crying like a little boy because Sam Chisolm just said his bending was something he should be proud of. He hadn’t believed it then, and he’s still not sure he believes it now, even after everything, but...maybe this is a step towards that.

He didn’t come up here looking for a teacher, but it looks like one found him anyway.

Faraday gives a small, reluctant smile and shrugs a little. “I’m all ears.”

* * *

They talk for a long, long time.

* * *

It’s almost dawn by the time Faraday goes to bed, and the sun is high in the sky when he finally wakes up again. The tent is empty, as is his stomach, so he stretches languidly for a few seconds before wandering out in search of food.

He finds it, along with Calhoun, at one of the bigger fires. Calhoun smiles at him, like he’s an old friend, and it causes a twinge in Faraday’s gut, because he’s not here as a friend, not even close, and no matter how much he’s starting to like these people, he can’t lose sight of the reason he _is_ here.

Still, when Calhoun offers him a plate of mildly overcooked bacon and eggs, he takes it gratefully.

Guilt can wait until after breakfast.

“Quite a spread,” he says, indicating his plate with the tarnished fork Calhoun handed him.

Calhoun chuckles. “Enjoy it. Most of our meals ain’t this fancy.”

“So what’s the occasion?”

“Work party got back with fresh rations a few days ago. We send ‘em out every couple of weeks - they do some labor for the farmers around the valley, farmers pay ‘em in supplies instead of money.”

Faraday stops mid-bite.

That’s a far cry from the way Freeman told it back in the saloon. And Calhoun has no reason to lie to him - as far as he knows, Faraday’s just another firebender bitter about getting run out of town. Faraday would have expected him to outright boast about the raids on the farms, why would he bother spinning some story about working _with_ the farmers?

He’s trying to work up a way of asking about it without sounding too suspicious when Calhoun catches sight of something over his shoulder. “About time you met the head man around here,” the other man says with a grin. “Hey, boss! Come meet Faraday.”

Faraday turns around.

And finds himself face-to-face with someone he had hoped never to see again.

* * *

_He’s seventeen._

_He’s been on the ranch for about a week now, working himself half to death in exchange for three meals a day and one of the cots in the crowded bunkhouse._

_Hoskins has been here a lot longer than Faraday has. Faraday’s talked to him in passing a couple of times, but they’ve never really spoken. All Faraday knows about him is that he’s a hard worker and has a lot of pull with the other ranch hands._

_And that he’s a firebender._

_He’s the first firebender Faraday’s ever met, besides himself. A good one, too - on Faraday’s third day here, a wildfire broke out in one of the fields and Hoskins extinguished it like it was nothing. Faraday hasn’t used his own bending in years, doesn’t plan on using it much in the future, but hell, if he could at least_ learn _a few things…_

_After supper, most of the hands usually break out the whiskey and a deck of cards, and tonight, Faraday decides to join._

_It’s not that he scared of Hoskins; he’s just a little...intimidated. Hoskins isn’t the friendliest, and he has a coarse, unfiltered way of talking that makes Faraday nervous. So he has a couple of shots of liquid courage before approaching the man. “Excuse me...sir?”_

_Hoskins looks up from his card game in annoyance. “What do you want, kid? I’m busy.”_

_“I know, sir. Sorry. I just…” Faraday really should have rehearsed this better. “You’re a firebender.”_

_The older man gives him a look. “It take you the whole week to work that out? You’re dumber than you look.”_

_Faraday ignores the jab - he’s been called worse. “No, sir.”_

_“Then what do you want?”_

_“I’m a firebender too,” Faraday blurts out, and the admission feels foreign on his lips. It’s not something he’s said out loud for a long, long time, and he knows it’s a risk, but Hoskins is like him. That connects them, right?_

_Hoskins sniffs. “That so? Well good for you, kid. You want a medal?”_

_This isn’t going the way Faraday had hoped it would, but he presses on. “No, sir, I just...I’m not very good, is all, and I was hoping…” He swallows. “I was wondering if you could teach me sometime.”_

_There’s a painfully long, awkward silence as Hoskins stares at him with furrowed brows, like he’s trying to figure out if Faraday is serious or not. Faraday’s about to retreat to his cot when Hoskins breaks out in a wolfish grin and sets down his cards._

_“Well, then, why didn’t you say so sooner? ‘Course I’d be glad to help another bender out.”_

_Faraday exhales in relief. He feels his face light up as Hoskins pushes back his chair and stands, saying, “Matter of fact, we can start right now, if you want. There’s still some daylight left.”_

_He doesn’t even wait for Faraday’s answer before heading for the door, and Faraday, willing and eager, follows at his heels. His palms are itching in anticipation - he can’t remember the last time he used his bending._

_They’ve only gone a few meters from the bunkhouse when Hoskins rounds on him._

_“Lesson one,” Hoskins says, and there’s something in his voice that makes a sudden pang of anxiety blossom in Faraday’s gut. He watches Hoskins form a large fireball in his hand, and his eyes widen as the man says, “You block this, you live. You don’t, you die.”_

_And that’s all the warning he gets before the fireball is coming at him, straight for his face. Faraday throws himself sideways, hitting the ground with a thud, and feels his breath knocked out of him. The fireball lands inches away from his head and goes out._

_He barely has time to roll over before Hoskins sends another one his way, sending him scrambling back a few feet. The flames only just miss him._

_“Come on, kid, you said you were a firebender!” Hoskins calls, sending a series of quick fire blades raining down on either side of him. “Now bend!”_

_Faraday finally gets to his feet and raises his hands in a poor attempt at a fighting stance. He manages to block the next blast Hoskins throws at him, waving it to the side, and tries to focus enough to shoot out a fireball of his own._

_His hands don’t even spark._

_And then there’s a wall of flame descending on him, too wide for him to dodge and far too big for him to block or deflect, and he can hear Hoskins laughing over the noise. He drops to the ground again, curling into a ball and covering his head and just praying it’s enough to save him..._

_The flames are almost on him when they go out and reveal Hoskins, now standing directly over him, looking down at him with disdain._

_“Lesson two.” There’s no trace of humor in Hoskins’s voice now, just menace. “It’s every man for himself out here, and that goes double for people like us. You can’t count on anyone but yourself, kid. Because no one else is gonna waste time helping you” He shoots a final jet of flame - a small one, but enough to get a reaction - past Faraday’s ear and smirks when Faraday flinches. “Lesson over.”_

_Faraday hears Hoskins walk back to the bunkhouse, but he doesn’t move. He stays curled in on himself for a long time, trying to control the tremors running through his body so that he’ll be able to stand up._

_Now he understands why people talk about firebenders the way they do. Why his landlord called him a monster, why Ma barely acknowledged his bending if she could avoid it._

_Because people like Hoskins - people like him - they_ are _monsters._

_He leaves the ranch that night._

* * *

It’s been fourteen years since that night, and Hoskins might be older and greyer, but Faraday would be able to pick out that goddamn face in the dark, and it takes everything he has not to reflexively flinch back.

There’s no sign of recognition in Hoskins’s face when Faraday meets his eyes, though. He even holds out his hand for Faraday to shake, saying, “Afternoon, mister. We’re glad to have you with us.”

Faraday’s frozen for a couple of seconds before realizing he’s supposed to reply. He grabs the offered hand and shakes it, hoping Hoskins can’t feel his own hand trembling. “Glad to be here.”

“You planning on staying with us, then?”

“For a while, at least.” Faraday ignores the way his instincts are telling him to leave and leave now - even if Hoskins _did_ recognize him, that would be no reason to suspect him of anything. “Impressive set up you’ve got going here.”

Hoskins grins. “Hope you decide to stay,” he says. “We could always use more men up here.” He claps Faraday on the shoulder, and Faraday fights not to tense up. “Hope you’re settling in all right. I hate to seem inhospitable, but there are a couple of things that I need to be getting to, so, if you’ll excuse me…”

Faraday has no objections to that at all. “Of course,” he says. “Running this place must keep you pretty busy.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” Hoskins says, sounding amused. He gives them both a departing smile - the same smile he gave Faraday that night, all those years ago - and walks away.

Faraday releases a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding, and Calhoun huffs in laughter. “Yeah, a lot of people get nervous, meeting him for the first time. He’s an intimidating fella. Only got here a few months ago, but he took over running things pretty damn fast.” Calhoun nods at Hoskins’s retreating figure. “Good thing he did, too. Work parties were his idea, actually. Before that we were pretty much just scrounging up whatever we could find up here.”

Something starts to click in Faraday’s head.

“Any way I could volunteer for one of those parties?” he asks, hoping he sounds more casual than he thinks he does. “I’d rest a lot easier if I felt like I was earning my keep.”

Calhoun shakes his head. “Not likely. The town knows your face, knows you’re one of us. Only reason the farmers agree to work with the men we send is because they don’t know they’re firebenders. Hoskins is real careful about that. Most of the farmers are willing to shoot firebenders on sight.”

Faraday frowns. “So you never go, then?”

“I haven’t set foot in that valley since I came up here. None of the benders who came from the town have.” Calhoun spits at the campfire in distaste. “Fact is, it ain’t safe for people like us down there. You said it yourself, they were ready to shoot you dead.”

“Yeah, but-”

“But nothing. Trust me, Faraday - you ever have to go back into that valley, you better be awful careful. Because those folks down there would like nothing better than to see us all dead.”

* * *

Faraday spends most of that day in his tent. Alone, which he’s grateful for, because there’s a lot he’s heard that he needs to process and work out, and he needs solitude for that.

He runs his cards through his hands and glares at the ground as he thinks.

Freeman had said the firebenders were aggressive. That they’d taken to raiding the farms, the town. That people in Sego City were terrified of them.

That doen’t fit with anything Calhoun has told him.

And Faraday knows that the supposed raids starting up right around the same time as Hoskins’s arrival is too neat to be a coincidence.

He feels like his head is full of jigsaw pieces that he _knows_ fit together, but he can’t figure out how for the life of him. And until he does figure it out, he’s not sure what he’s supposed to do - stay here or go back to town. He _wants_ to go back, has wanted to since he saw Hoskins standing in front of him, but...his gut is telling him there’s more to this than what Freeman told them.

Vin comes back around dusk, at which point Faraday’s been turning details over in his brain for hours and has nothing to show for it except a headache, and Faraday figures it won’t hurt to focus on something else for a while.

“You been working on your breathing?” Vin asks. That had been one of the things they’d covered last night. Faraday hadn’t bought it at first - the hell did breathing have to do with anything? - but Vin had gone into this long explanation of how control of your breath was a sign of discipline and self-restraint and a lot of other bullshit like that, and while Faraday’s still not sure he believes it, he’s willing to give it a try.

It’s not like his bending can get much worse, after all.

“Little bit,” he admits. “Still don’t really see the point, but…”

“You will,” Vin says with surety. “When your bending starts to get better, you will.”

Faraday grimaces, flipping through his cards with practiced ease. “Don’t know why it’s been so hard, these past few months,” he mutters. “I knew not using it for most of my life probably fucked with it, but six months ago I could send out fireballs bigger than I was.”

Vin looks thoughtful. “And what were you doing, when your bending was so strong?”

“Fighting.”

“For your life?”

“Mine. And a few other people.” Faraday smiles softly. “Whole town, actually.”

“Then I’m not surprised.”

Faraday glances up at him and arches an eyebrow. Vin nods his head in a way Faraday’s come to realize means he’s about to explain something he feels is important. “Last night, I told you that your bending comes from your inner fire. Your drive. Your will to accomplish something.”

“Yeah, and I haven’t lost that,” Faraday insists.

“Have you? You told me you spent your life hiding your gift, because you were ashamed of it. You ever stop to consider you might still be ashamed of it, deep down? And maybe the only reason you didn’t realize it during that fight was because you were paying attention to something more important?”

And that, that right there is something Faraday’s never even taken the time to think about.

During Rose Creek, he hadn’t been thinking about his bending. Hadn’t been thinking about what it meant, what it made him, he’d just been thinking about protecting people. There hadn’t been any shame then, just the urge - the drive - to keep everyone safe. And the bending had been easier that day than it had ever been.

He hasn’t had to use it in a fight since. Every time he’s tried to bend since that day, it’s always just for the sake of bending, of trying to get stronger. And as hard as he’s tried to ignore it, there’s always been part of him that says it’s wrong, what he’s doing. If he gets stronger, he might turn into what people always told him he was.

He didn’t think those thoughts had any real power over him. Certainly no real power over his bending.

Now he thinks he might have been wrong.

It must be obvious when he arrives at that startling conclusion, because Vin smiles and says, “I think we found your problem, kid.”

* * *

Red Harvest is not a people person.

He never has been. He gets along with the Seven well enough - or at least Sam, and sometimes Billy - but he’s always been happier when it’s just him. No small talk, no meaningless conversations, just him, his horse, and the land.

So when he hears hoofbeats coming from the direction of the town, just after sundown on his second night at the foot of the mountain trail, he’s understandably annoyed.

He makes no effort to move from his carefully concealed campsite. Only Sam and the rest of the Seven know he’s out here, and they’ll make themselves known soon enough. Depending on which of them it is, Red might even show himself.

He’s a little surprised when he hears nothing but the shifting of hooves on the dirt as whoever it is halts their horse only a few feet away from where he’s hidden and then just stays there.

Red decides to wait.

After about ten minutes or so, he hears a noise coming from the path. Someone on foot, the footsteps too even to be Faraday’s, and as far as Red knows, the only ones who use that path are the firebenders.

Which makes it more than a little strange for Freeman to be meeting a person here in the dead of night.

“You’re late, Hoskins.” Freeman sounds irritated, almost hostile, not at all like the polite, unassuming man who had introduced himself to Sam back in the saloon.

Trouble is, he sounds much more natural like this, and that makes Red uneasy.

The other man - Hoskins - scoffs. “You’re not the only one with a town to run, _Sheriff_. Now what do you want?”

“I need you to lead another raid. Tonight.”

Hoskins gives a disbelieving laugh. “You’re kidding, right? We can’t have another one so soon, the idiots up there know we don’t need rations.”

“So find another excuse.”

“Your people getting out of hand again already, Freeman?”

“There’s a group of men in town, just rode in a couple days ago. They know about the raids. Only they decided they wanted to help stop them, they’ve got most of the town hooked by now.” Freeman lowers his voice to a threatening growl. “I’m not the only one who’s fucked if they figure out what’s going on, Hoskins.”

“You threatening me, you little shit?”

“Don’t need to. One of them’s already in your camp.”

Silence.

Then: “How do you know?”

“They told me that was the plan. Send someone up, get an idea of your numbers. And these men aren’t idiots - it won’t be hard for them to work it out once that firebender comes back.”

“...his name wouldn’t be Faraday, would it?”

There’s no verbal response, so Red assumes Freeman gives visual confirmation, because a second later Hoskins is spitting out, “Son-of-a- _bitch!_ If he tells them _any_ of what he’s heard or seen up there…”

“I guess that makes it pretty clear what you need to do, doesn’t it?”

The silence is almost tangible this time.

“What about the other men in town?”

“Bring your best benders. The ones who know exactly what’s at stake here. Between them and my deputies, shouldn’t be too hard to make these men go away.” There’s the sound of Freeman starting to turn his horse around. “Take care of Faraday. Then get back down here with your men. I’ll tell mine to be ready. After tonight, everything goes back to normal.”

* * *

Red waits until he can’t feel Hoskins’s footsteps any longer before moving. He knows the mountain path is probably out of the question, there are bound to be guards.

He looks up at the cliff face in front of him and smirks to himself.

The elders _did_ always say his path was different, after all.

* * *

Faraday is woken up by someone yanking him out of his bedroll and up onto his feet.

“Hoskins wants to see you,” an unfamiliar voice hisses in his ear. “And don’t make a fuss, or things could start getting messy.”

Faraday is still half-asleep, and he’s pretty sure he feels a gun poking into his ribcage, so he keeps his mouth shut. He lets himself be manhandled out of the tent and towards the back of the gully, stumbling over the uneven terrain. “There a problem, then?” he mutters.

The gun digs into his ribcage hard enough to hurt. “Shut up and walk.”

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

There’s another path back here, and Faraday is dragged along it for a few meters before coming to a large alcove in the rock.

Hoskins and several large, angry-looking men are waiting for him.

Yeah, there’s definitely a problem.

The firebender holding him shoves him to his knees a few feet away from Hoskins, and okay, this situation is a little too familiar for comfort. Faraday refuses to show any fear, instead glaring up at the man in defiance. “Something on your mind?”

“You could say that,” Hoskins says. “Faraday. I knew you looked familiar but I just couldn’t place it....You’re that little shithead I taught a lesson to, a long time ago, aren’t you?” He looks Faraday up and down appraisingly. “You turned out about as well as I expected, too.”

Faraday bristles. “Is that why I’m here? You already kicked my ass once, I don’t think you need to worry about me now.”

“You’re here because I know why you came up here.”

Fuck.

Poker face. “I came up here to get away from that shitty town, you know that. Same reason everyone else did.”

“We both know that’s a lie. I got the word straight from the sheriff himself.”

Suddenly Faraday feels all the jigsaw pieces fall neatly into place.

“You’re working with him.”

“And it didn’t even take you a week to work that one out this time. Good for you, kid.” Hoskins gives an overdramatic sigh that even Goody would consider over the top and says, “Unfortunately, I can’t exactly let word get out about that. Might upset the nice little balance we’ve got going on here.” He grins. “You follow me?”

Faraday is used to being in this situation. With a gun to his head or his back - or, in this case, a firebender with a particularly nasty disposition at his front. He’s been here more times than he can count. And one way or another, he’s always gotten out of it. His luck’s always stretched just enough for that.

He hopes it’ll hold up this time.

So he does what he does best. He starts talking.

“So what’s the deal with Freeman then?” he asks, hoping Hoskins is the type that likes to monologue. “You keep his people scared, he lets you waltz into town and steal things every so often?”

Hoskins doesn’t say anything, but he hasn’t killed him yet, either, so Faraday takes that as a good sign and continues. “And most of the people up here have no idea, do they? They think you’re all risking your skins going down for supplies, they’re too scared to even set foot in that valley. And you and Freeman, you get to play heroes.” He sneers. “You’re both fucking pathetic.”

That gets a reaction. Hoskins steps forward and kicks him in the ribs, right where he took a bullet in Rose Creek. Faraday gasps, feeling the breath knocked clean out of him, and curls in on himself, willing the pain to recede. He doesn’t think any of his ribs are broken, but fucking _hell_ if it doesn’t hurt like a bitch...

“That’s mighty big talk coming from a dead man,” Hoskins growls over him. “Any more pretty speeches you want to make before I kill you, Faraday?”

Faraday glares up at him, breathing hard, ready to tell him just where to go, when he sees something over Hoskins’s shoulder.

And then he smiles.

“Just one,” he says slowly. “Looks like someone decided to waste time helping me after all.”

There’s a flash of confusion on Hoskins’s face before it turns to panic as the ground beneath him starts dropping quickly enough to knock him and his men off their feet. Faraday scrambles backwards, although he probably doesn’t need to worry too much about falling in after them.

In seconds, there’s a deep fissure in front of him, and he can’t see the firebenders at the bottom of it, but he can hear them shouting in surprise and fear.

Faraday grins up at where Red Harvest is standing on a ledge a few yards above him. “That’s a neat trick,” he says.

Red rolls his eyes and drops to the ground. Faraday gestures towards the fissure. “So are they…”

“They’re not dead.”

“Oh.” Faraday thinks about that for a moment. “Not to look a gift earthbender in the mouth, but, why?”

Red shrugs. “Seems like cheating.”

Faraday’s not even going to ask.

“Okay then,” he says. “So there are several very angry firebenders down there and one very power-crazy sheriff in town-”

“Plus his men.”

“Plus his- you know what, I don’t even want to know how you know, I’ll just trust you know what you’re talking about.” Faraday startles a little as he hears faint explosions coming from inside the crevasse. “I get the feeling they’ll be out of there before too long. Are we just gonna wait for them or…?”

Red shakes his head. “We’ll go back to town and wait there. We can take care of him and the sheriff at the same time.”

“You know they can probably beat us there, right? I’ve seen other firebenders do it - they’ll bring up enough flame to basically shoot themselves where they want to go, the horses would never be fast enough.”

Red grins, and it’s probably the most terrifying expression Faraday’s ever seen on him. “In that case, you might want to hold onto something.”

* * *

Vasquez has only ever heard descriptions of earthquakes, so when he’s woken up by everything in the hotel room vibrating quickly, accompanied by a low rumbling noise that’s rapidly coming closer, he assumes that’s what it is.

Except when he props himself up in bed and blearily squints out the window, he swears he sees a _wave of earth_ moving steadily towards the town, and that...is probably not natural.

And there’s only one earthbender he knows of out there right now.

Which means there’s trouble.

Suddenly he’s wide awake.

* * *

“ _‘You might want to hold onto something?’_ _Really?_ ” Faraday yells as Red brings the earth wave neatly to a stop right outside the town. “Next time a _little more warning_ when you decide to move the entire fucking mountain!”

“It wasn’t the entire mountain, it was a tiny part of it.” Red gives what passes for a smile with him and looks at where Faraday is crouched over, clutching the ground like his life depends on it. “Relax. You did fine.”

Faraday doesn’t even have time to come up with a clever retort before the rest of the Seven are descending on them, seemingly out of nowhere, with roughly half the town behind them. Which isn’t surprising, given their _extremely unsubtle arrival…_

Sam reaches them first. “I can’t wait to hear the explanation for this,” he says, moving to help Faraday up.

Vasquez beats him to it, gently pullng Faraday to his feet. “You okay, _güero?_ ” He looks at the arm Faraday has wrapped around his midsection and his expression darkens. “Joshua.”

“M’fine. It’s nothing.”

Vasquez isn’t buying it, and neither is Sam. The earthbender folds his arms and starts, “Faraday-”

“Not really a lot of time to explain,” Faraday says. “There’s about eleven or twelve unhappy firebenders not too far behind us, and I have a couple of things to say to the sheriff before they get here.”

“Looks like you’ll be getting your chance any moment now,” Red remarks.

Faraday turns to see Freeman, flanked by several deputies, coming through the growing crowd, and he clenches his jaw. “Do me a favor and watch my back,” he murmurs to Vasquez and Sam before stepping forward with long, purposeful strides until he and the sheriff are face to face.

Freeman stares at him like he’s seen a ghost, and Faraday smirks to himself. “Evening, sheriff,” he says amiably.

He watches Freeman’s gaze move from him to Red, then to the rest of the Seven, then finally to the mountains in the distance, before returning to Faraday. “Suppose you tell me just what the _hell_ is going on here.

“Oh, I think you know exactly what’s going on here, _amigo_ ,” Faraday replies, and he raises his voice enough for everyone to hear his next words. “You’ve been lying to all these people, that’s what’s going on.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about-”

“Your partner up there already admitted as much, you might as well have the balls to own up to it.” Faraday narrows his eyes. “What happened there, anyway? He come to you with an offer? ‘I’ll keep your people scared if you let me come and go when I want’?”

He can hear mumbling starting to spread through the crowd. He knows it’s pointless to expect them to believe him over the sheriff, but he’s going through with this anyway. And if he can get Freeman to admit to anything, on purpose or accidentally, so much the better.

Freeman scoffs, laughing a little and looking around at the townspeople as if to say “are you really taking him seriously?” But Faraday’s been reading people for a long, long time. And he sees the glint of unease in the sheriff’s eyes.

“You folks ever notice how you never had any trouble with firebenders around here until after he came along?” Faraday turns to address the people directly. “How many of you honest-to-god had problems with them before this jackass turned up and started spouting off about how dangerous they were, huh?”

The mumbling gets louder. A couple people have started looking back and forth between him and Freeman, like they’re not sure who to believe.

A voice pipes up from the crowd. “But the raids-”

“Were arranged,” Red cuts in, stepping up to stand just behind Faraday’s shoulder. No one questions him, which makes sense - he did just move about half a mountain clear across the valley, people tend not to question men who can do things like that. “By their leader and _your_ sheriff.”

“Most of the benders up there don’t even _know_ about them.” Faraday rounds on Freeman again. “You knew they were never dangerous. The only ones who cause trouble are the ones working for you and Hoskins, and they probably don’t do a thing you don’t tell them to do, do they?” He grits his teeth. “And all the others up there, they don’t mean a damn thing to you.”

He thinks about Calhoun, friendly and welcoming, who was born and grew up in this town until he was driven away.

About Vin, who offered to teach him without even knowing him.

He thinks about the families he saw up there, the women and children, living in tents and shacks in the middle of the mountains instead of having proper homes, too scared to even think about coming anywhere near the town for fear of their lives.

“There are people up there who lived here their entire lives before you came along and turned this town against them. There’s women and kids up there, just trying to survive, take care of their families.” Faraday moves his gaze around the crowd, taking the time to look each person he sees right in the eye so he can stare them down. “They’re terrified of you people, you know that? Just as scared of you as you are of them. You’ve all been jumping at nothing, and all because this son-of-a-bitch can’t even run a town without scaring you into submission.”

“All right, that’s enough!” Freeman barks. “This is all complete bullshit, you can’t prove any of it!” He looks at the townspeople around them, gesturing at Faraday and asking, “Who the hell are you gonna believe, me or a fucking firebender?”

Before anyone can say anything, there’s a roaring in the distance, and when Faraday turns he sees several streaks of orange light moving quickly towards the town.

Hoskins.

He turns back to Freeman, voice sharp and deadly when he says, “You want to prove to these people you just want to keep them safe? Then stay here and fight with us. Because there’s about to be some very unfriendly firebenders here, so if you want to protect these people so much, you do it right now, with us.”

That’s roughly the moment all hell breaks loose.

* * *

Vasquez has been standing back, letting Faraday lead on this one, because he’s more involved than any of them and doesn’t need an overprotective waterbender breathing down his neck. _Watch my back_ , Faraday had said, and whatever Faraday needs, Vasquez is more than happy to give him.

But when Freeman apparently decides to drop all pretenses and draws his gun level with Faraday’s head, standing back stops being an option.

* * *

The instant Freeman’s gun leaves its holster, everything is suddenly moving.Faraday barely has a chance to look down the barrel before there’s a shot that’s unmistakably from one of Vasquez’s guns, and then Freeman is staggering backwards clutching his mangled wrist, his gun falling to the ground.

His deputies react immediately, all of them pulling their own pistols and firing past the now panicking crowd, only to stare in disbelief as the bullets stop and fall to the ground in mid-air.

Faraday glances over his shoulder and sees Billy with his hands raised, and he grins at the airbender.

The grin disappears all at once as Faraday sees a gigantic stream of fire shooting towards the town

“ _Everybody move!_ ”

* * *

Sam turns just in time to react, bringing up a wall of earth just before the flames can hit the people still in their path. “Everyone get inside!” he bellows.

No one needs to be told twice. Fireballs have started raining down on the street, some of them expanding on impact and spreading outwards in all directions. One of them catches Freeman in the leg, and if anyone needed any more confirmation about his involvement, they get it when he promptly screams, “ _Hoskins, you two-timing bastard!_ ”

* * *

Faraday is moving through street with Red and Vasquez, trying to stop or divert as many fireballs as they can, when he sees the sheriff get hit, and goddamn if it isn’t satisfying.

The satisfaction is short-lived, though, because that’s when Hoskins comes striding through the flames.

“I should have known you’d fuck this up, Freeman!” he shouts, sending a long jet of fire at the other man’s face, which Freeman only just manages to dodge. “You were barely keeping this town together when I got here!” Hoskins looks around him and there’s murder in his eyes when he snarls, “And as far as I’m concerned, you _and_ it can go to hell!”

That’s roughly all the warning Freeman gets before literally bursting into flames.

* * *

Vasquez feels a flicker of sympathy for the sheriff before remembering the man’s face as he drew his gun on Faraday, and the sympathy dies out. “Good riddance,” he mutters.

His attention is drawn by Faraday shoving him out of the path of another fireball, and then they’re back-to-back in the middle of the street, with Vasquez pulling from the closest rain barrels and Faraday pulling the incoming missiles into a long stream he sends shooting into the ground.

It’s familiar and natural and it feels _right_ bending side-by-side like this, and Vasquez can’t help grinning, despite everything, because this is exactly where he wants to be.

* * *

Faraday trusts Sam and the others to get the rest of the firebenders under control, but that still leaves Hoskins, who’s launching lashes of flame in all directions and laughing like it’s the most amusing thing he’s ever done. Faraday feels anger swell up in his gut at the sight, so similar to that night on the ranch.

Except that night, he’d been sure that he and Hoskins were the same underneath, even if he couldn’t bend like Hoskins could.

Now he knows that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Hoskins _is_ a monster, but Faraday doesn’t have to be.

* * *

Vasquez feels the presence at his back vanish suddenly and turns to see Faraday stalking towards Hoskins with raised hands.

“Okay, you son-of-a-bitch, you and me have got a score to settle!”

* * *

When Hoskins rounds on him this time, Faraday is ready.

He easily dodges the lash that comes streaking toward him and sends it hurtling back towards Hoskins.

The older firebender shoves it away with a flick of his wrist and looks at him like Faraday’s an insect in his path. “You never learn your lesson, do you, boy?”

“Maybe the lessons you taught me just weren’t worth learning.” They’re just standing still now, staring at each other while Sego City burns around them, and somehow Faraday just _knows_ only one of them is coming out of this alive.

Hoskins sneers. “Then I guess I’ll just have to try harder this time, won’t I?” He raises his hands, eyes dark and predatory, and says, “Lesson one: you block this, you live.”

And then he’s pulling from the fire around them and channeling it into a huge wall of flame, and even as it comes towards Faraday, the younger man feels the urge to laugh, because Hoskins clearly thinks he’s still fighting that seventeen year-old kid with no home, no friends, and no drive, the kid he was able to beat so easily and leave shaking in the dirt with the conviction that he’d never amount to anything good or decent in his life.

If Bart Bogue were here right now, he’d tell Hoskins how dangerous underestimating your opponent can be.

* * *

It’s like Vasquez’s heart stops, the moment he sees the wall of fire coming down on Faraday like a shroud. He doesn’t have enough water to stop it and he’s too far away to push Faraday out of the way in time, and god he’s had nightmares about this…

He can only watch as Faraday brings his palms up and shoves at the fire like he’s pushing open a door. The wall pulls apart in the middle, the flames reshaping themselves as Faraday pulls them to him with a look of determination on his face that takes Vasquez’s breath away.

Faraday funnels the fire into a single stream and shoot it at Hoskins’s face. Hoskins pushes it aside like he’s swatting a fly, and when he talks he sounds almost amused. “Well, look who learned how to bend. Guess I taught you something after all.”

“The only thing you taught me was how _not_ to use my bending,” Faraday shoots back. “But thanks for that lesson.”

“Aren’t we high and mighty?” Hoskins scoffs. “You really think trying to save this shithole town makes you that much better than me? You can’t fight nature, kid. Men like us, we don’t look out for anyone but ourselves. And if you’d learned that a little sooner, maybe you’d stand a chance at walking away from this.”

He brings his palms together and shoots a torrent of flames towards Faraday, who brings his own hands up and halts it, but doesn’t redirect or extinguish it. He holds it there, only a few inches away from his body, and when he talks his voice is quiet, but Vasquez hears every word.

“You’re right, I can’t fight nature. I spent twenty years trying to do that. But that doesn’t make me like you.” Faraday smiles, then, bright and dangerous. “And trying to fight it did teach me one thing. Fire’s not the only way to kill someone.

And then, in one fluid motion, he pulls Maria from his holster and shoots Hoskins right in the face.

* * *

When the sun rises, it does so on a half-burnt city with a sheriff and several firebenders lying dead in the streets.

It also rises on a group of seven men, standing in the rubble, looking exhausted but satisfied.

“What do we do now, Sam?” Goody asks.

Sam looks around. “We stay. We help them rebuild. We fix what was broken here.” He runs a hand over his face. “But first, we rest.”

There’s a light scattering of chuckles before they disperse, each of them going to seek rest as he sees fit.

Faraday and Vasquez end up sitting on the charred steps of the saloon where all this started, pressed shoulder-to-shoulder, looking at what used to be Hoskins.

“You said you met a firebender when you were seventeen,” Vasquez say quietly, fingers brushing the back of Faraday’s hand. “One who wasn’t the teaching type. It was him?”

Faraday sighs, giving into the urge to rest his head on Vasquez’s shoulder. “It was him.” Despite everything, he chuckles. “Guess that lesson didn’t turn out quite like he expected.”

“Coming from you, that’s not a surprise.” Vasquez presses a kiss into his hair before resting his chin on Faraday’s head. “I’m glad we stayed here.”

“Vas, we burned down half the town and got the sheriff killed.”

Vasquez snorts before turning serious. “We also helped a lot of people who needed it. Including you.”

“I didn’t _need_ -”

“I think you did, _querido_.” Vasquez takes Faraday’s hand in his and squeezes it gently. “I think you found something you’ve been looking for for a long time. Watching you fight him...I’ve never seen you look that confident. It was beautiful.” He presses another kiss into Faraday’s hair and repeats, “So I’m glad we stayed here.”

Faraday is quiet for a moment before saying, “Me, too.”

They sit in silence for a long time. They know they’ll have to get up eventually - there’s a town to rebuild and a years-old conflict to resolve (and Wild Jack is still somewhere up in the firebenders’ camp, Vasquez realizes) - but for now, everything is quiet and still, and they’re both safe, with Faraday probably more whole and at peace with himself than he’s ever been, Vasquez is sure.

Right now, that’s all that matters.

**Author's Note:**

> Reminder that if you ever wanna talk about this verse, or the movie, or anything at all, really, there's a link to my Tumblr in my profile. I don't bite, I promise :)
> 
> Also: points to whoever spots the two nods to the 1960 Magnificent Seven in this.


End file.
